Antarctica and the Arctic are the fastest warming regions on Earth. These polar territories can be considered as an experimental scientific environment for the development of science, innovation and technology. Bulgaria has over 30 years of scientific activities on the territory of Antarctica, and the results of Bulgarian scientists have an international resonance.
This was told by Dr. Rositsa Yaneva from the Bulgarian Antarctic Science Program during the conference "From local to national and global perspectives and lessons learned for better policies, practices and for a better quality of life", which was held at the Faculty of Economics of SU "St. Kliment Ohridski" and was part of the satellite program of the 61st session of the IPCC in Sofia.
"We are currently preparing the 33rd expedition to Antarctica. We went through many vicissitudes. 30 years ago there were only 6 of us. It turned out that Antarctica is a very complex bite, but we did not give up. To date, we have our own research vessel there. Our first serious expedition was in 1994, and today we have a whole village. The first Bulgarian building "The Lame Dog" is recognized as a historical monument and figures in the cultural and historical heritage of the continent. We participate in determining the fate of this continent and we are proud to have achieved this", said Prof. Hristo Pimpirev, Director of the National Center for Polar Research at SU and Chairman of the Board of BAI.
The achievements of Bulgarian scientists in Antarctica
The first Bulgarian transoceanic research vessel
Bulgaria is the proud owner of its first transoceanic research ship, which, according to the participants in the discussion, is the result of the efforts of many people. Fleet Admiral Prof. Boyan Mednikarov from the Higher Naval School "N. Y. Vaptsarov" explained that at the moment the ship has two successful expeditions.
"The Bulgarian ship "Holy Brothers Cyril and Methodius" entered the World Ocean and began conducting scientific research in the Southern Ocean to Antarctica. This had never happened in Bulgarian history. The Southern Ocean is a very serious priority of the EU, and with its Antarctic program, Bulgaria is becoming interesting for the European Commission", explained Prof. Pimpirev.
According to him, it is necessary to think about making a brand new Bulgarian ship to be launched, and the one we have can do monitoring in the Black Sea.
"When it is equipped with equipment, Bulgaria will become visible to the world scientific community," he pointed out.
Livingstone Island Base
The Bulgarian base on Livingston Island is among other achievements of our scientists. It has three large laboratories, as well as a space (so-called open space) in which 12 people can work and 8 people can sleep there. According to Prof. Pimpirev, Bulgaria has its own settlement on Antarctica, which even has a small chapel.
Dragomir Mateev, deputy director of the National Center for Polar Research at SU explained that several Antarctic programs have started working on our base - in Turkey, Portugal, Colombia and Mongolia.
"Our base is always open and we are ready to receive colleagues who want to do research where it makes sense. Growing our base will contribute to making our base increasingly desirable to our partners. We are currently working with Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Greece," he pointed out.
Prof. Pimpirev said that one of the main problems in Antarctica is ecology and the problem of garbage. The island's beach has been cleaned and currently meets all Antarctic Community standards.
"We have talks with the MoEW about a program related to the climate. Talks have begun. Thanks to them, we have a sewage treatment plant. The Bulgarian base in Antarctica is the only one that allows itself to stop the generators and work on RES. We have an incinerator that burns the waste, and what cannot be burned is put on the ships and transported," he added.
According to him, the competition to take over Antarctica is huge and in the last 10 years alone, China has 5 new bases on the continent.
The research of Bulgarian scientists in Antarctica
Are there freshwater lakes in Antarctica?
"Globally, the trends are drought, shrinking lakes and extinction. In this part of the world, climate changes are causing glaciers to recede, melt and turn into freshwater lakes. The processes observed for such bodies of water is that they feed the natural landscape around. Vegetation usually appears around them. The rapid appearance of new lakes in Antarctica is an indicator of the changes that are taking place in its eastern part", said Associate Professor Vesela Evtimova from the Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research at the BAS.
She talked about her research in some of the new lakes in Antarctica.
"There is life in these lakes - some small aquatic invertebrates. They live in extreme conditions and only the most adapted organisms manage to survive in this territory. Some of them are successful colonizers and manage to conquer these territories, like a kind of cancer. For the first time, our scientists are researching such adaptation in Antarctica," she explained.
According to her, it is important to understand whether these lakes release or absorb carbon dioxide and whether they contribute to the greenhouse effect.
What is happening to the glaciers?
In Antarctica, seismic events are happening in different places, and what is happening to the glaciers and how they are moving needs to be investigated. This was explained by Associate Professor Gergana Georgieva from the Department of Meteorology and Geophysics of the Faculty of Physics of the SU, who participated in 5 expeditions to Antarctica.
"As temperatures rise, glaciers start to melt, but the processes have not been studied enough, and that's our role there. The truth is that they don't always start to melt as temperatures rise. There are many factors that influence these processes. When the glaciers melt, we've all heard that sea levels will rise. Four of the ten largest glaciers in the world are in Antarctica. We need to calculate their mass balance. Only four glaciers out of the 126 observed were studied from 1946-48," explained Prof. Gergana Georgieva.
Bulgaria's dermatological research in Antarctica is the first in the world
How does skin change in places like Antarctica? Bulgarian scientists conducted the first such dermatological studies in the world and found that many factors are behind these changes.
"In the conditions of a more humid environment, the skin changes. It is no secret that Antarctica is a place where the ozone layer is quite thin and has the property of changing depending on the season. This is also the situation at the North Pole," explained Prof. Dr. Ivan Bogdanov from the "Dermatology and Venereology" Clinic at Tokuda UMBAL.
According to him, the people who work there receive an average of 68 erythematous doses of ultraviolet radiation per day.
"This is a lot of radiation. For two to three weeks in Antarctica, microorganisms on the skin increase. The practical value of these studies is enormous. We explore two of the most interesting developments in medical dermatology science. One of them is on the minerbiome. The effect of radiation is also important. We have to learn how to adapt, and this is a living laboratory that gives us so much information", said Prof. Dr. Ivan Bogdanov.
But where does science fit into our policies?
"Many new research programs are appearing in Bulgaria, but science is not funded. All institutes are looking to achieve some European projects. Our policy is very often misguided because it is not based on the scientific reports that are developed here. Bulgaria should invest 3% of GDP in science, not 0,35% and 7% in education, if we want to transform and develop as a country. Bulgarian scientists and researchers must have the opportunity to work at the world level. If we do not radically change this composition, we will be left with a scientific community dragging itself on its stomach and we will be in a very difficult situation", stated Julian Popov, Minister of Environment and Water (2023- Apr. 2024).